I iw ii w. I Yr 4 nlYSr ui rrw Seventy-seven years of editorial freedom Edited and managed by students of the University of Michigan under authority of Board in Control of Student Publications "We strongly deplore Soviet attempts to set up a puppet regime in Czechoslovakia!" \ uI 2- 420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Mich. / News Phone: 764-0552 t Editorials printed in The Michigan Daily exp ress the individual opinions of staff writers or the editors. This must be noted in all reprints. FRIDAY, AUGUST 30, 1968 NIGHT EDITOR: JILL CRABTREE .7, The Vietnam plank: No room for the doves NO MISTAKE can be made about the Democrats' Vietnam platform plank. Its views of our imbroglio in Southeast Asia is unabashedly hawkish, vindicating completely the administration's conduct of the struggle. It interprets the scenario in classic cold war terms: naked Com- munist agression locked in combat with American efforts to defend the freedom of a brave but defenseless nation. It of- fers peace, but only as a gesture, in the sense in which all men want peace but few are willing to sacrifice to obtain it. This Democratic nod to peace makes no attempt to-conceal the party's real incli- nations. As such, it presents those who oppose the nation's role In Vietnam and the for- eign policy assumptions t h a t spawned Vietnam with an opportunity and a di- lemma. Had Humphrey attempted to ap- pease the d o.v e s in Chicago by toning down the language of the plank - as Sen. Hart suggested - or even by accepting the minority's proposal, the. doves, with only minor contortions of conscience could have hailed a "new Humphrey" and kept their places in the ranks of the tra- ditional Democratic coalition. Instead, Humphrey - apparently un- der White House pressure -foisted upon the convention a position which, ironical- ly, probably represents his views more accurately than the compromise plank that he reportedly wished to see adopted. Consequently, the doves cannot so easily fool themselves or play games of con- science; the bigwigs offered the doves no: sop, no gesture with which they could as- sure themselves that all Will change for the better in the future if they merely stick with the party. There is no such assurance. Some are arguing that the Democrats by their con- duct this week showed themselves a party "in transition." The old politics of elitism and bossism had its last gasp in Chicago, they argue, and point to the demise of the unit rule and the stiffened language against racial discrimination in the se- lection of delegations. But the strong language on discrimina- tion that the party voiced in 1964 was largely -disregarded this year, and there is no reason to think 1972 will be any dif- ferent. And to argue that a convention as patently stage-managed and undemo- cratic as this one showed elitism a n d bossism in its last gasp seems almost de- praved. In - truth, Hubert Humphrey, Lyndon Johnson and the bosses did the party's liberals a favor by wearing their natural colors. If the forces which favor change are realistic and sincere, they must aban- don Humphrey in 1968. If they do not, they will have to live with him and may- be with the Humphreys, of the future for the next decade at least. For if they want change and still believe that they can achieve change through the Democratic party, two Humphrey terms in the White House can only mean two terms during which more liberal elements are shut out from the Democratic machinery. For them, the ugly, masochistic price of re- form in the long run may be a Nixon-Ag- new administration.j --URBAN LEHNER Editorial Director i -I _ :, y. . A_. . + u' i } t Registration trauma and MTA oratory By JIM HECK I HAD HEARD many sinister things of Boston's MTA system, but being somewhat late for a plane, I decided to overcome my reluctance to the subearth cabby in order to take advan- tage of its much publicized attribute: It's always on time. I strategically chose car 12, as it was in the middle of a 0 three-car train, and therefore less susceptible to injury should anything unfortunate occur. Seated next to me in the Pahk Avahnew to Iropht express was a pale-faced ,merchant mariner, proudly displaying his identification in a silver nametag: C. W. (really) Finch. FINCH turned to me as-car 12 lurched into movement and began to discuss the horrors of college registration. Before \ long, our tete a tete had become a group project, involving all those seated in our car 12 buggy in what seemed to an infre- quent MTA patron, common MTA oratory. Finch's face did most of the talking. The right half was always in complementary but opposite movements to the left half, and the words that did manage to come from his mouth seemed to have been coagulated and preconditioned by the contorsionistic but lanky endeavors of his nostrils and right eyelid which seemed to have the direct causial effect on the rest of his face. Finch told his captured audience how at his former college, students were confronted with the registration malady to an extent matched by no other institution in the world. His verbalized contortions illustrated the pain they suf- fered as they stood for hours in lines under the sun. "HAVING TRAVELED from home that same day, weary students were inhumanely thrust into lines of enduring length - unprotected by trees or buildings, and were intentionally filed " where the sun could have greatest coverage." "Not infrequently," Finch yelled, now standing-in the mid- dle of the cab, and delivering his address with all the fervor of a speeded-up tape of William Buckley, "Isles of students would disengage into large open spaces in' the building where any objective observer could see the horror of their disillusion- ment!" Almost in tears Finch whispered how the whole mess cul- minated in an old, dilapidated building, so appropriate to the mood of the entire bangled situation. Regaining his composure and swaying mpre easily with the jerking of the car, Finch said, "That whole mess of registra- tion was just an alumni-directed facade used to assure those . sentimental graduates that that old, dilapitated building was not an antiquated sructure." ACCORDING to several reports, some weeks before the University's registration, a group of area state legislators held an official pow-wow at the state capitol with a group of influ- encial members of the state department of education. The actual business of the - dual-branch committee re- mains a mystery, though reliable sources indicate it may have been a decision to detain University funds if President Flem- ing could not insure emmissaries of the committee that Water- man gymnasium would definitely continue to be used for stu- dent registration. Vice President Richard C. Cutler saidhe had no comment at this time on the report. The representatives were reportedly fearful the building would be forgotten if not used for registration, and such a site uation would not only bring discredit to the University's color- ful and prestigious heritage, but might precipitate adverse ar- guments to-a proposal that would limit the University's finan- ces for new classrooms. f46L TI'tReistf and 'Ilibun& Syndicate Ammar Letters to the Editor Students To have in the School of Social Work no part in selection of faculty Thank you, Mayor Daley TWHOSE WHO have for some time now been condemning the use of excessive force by American police can thank Chi- cago Mayor Richard Daley for waking up the disbelieving majority of citizens, politicians and newsmen to the facts of police brutality.V Yet it is ironic that the bloodbath in Chicago has been no worse than police and national guard suppression in each summer's ghetto disturbances or anti- war protests. But this time there was one crucial dif- ference. The Chicago police, doing the bidding of their political boss, were met at each turn by television cameras, pho- tographers and reporters. AND THERE it was in black and white, four normal days work of the Ameri- can cop, lustily cracking skulls, spraying MACE, or spreading tear gas. Even Walter Cronkite anid his normally apathetic staff were up. in arms when Dan Rather was slugged in the stomach and knocked to the convention floor be- fore national television. For it seemed the police and Guards- men were beating newsmen not in spite of their credentials but because of them. Several dozen representatives of the news media besides Rather were beaten and harrassed. Several of them were serious hurt. THE WHOLE Chicago affair was splen- did display before an audience of 50 million Americans and countless others overseas, just how sick our system of jus- tice and equality under the law really is. One Daily photographer covering the convention, described how police yelled to each other "get the cameras" as t h e y charged into groups of undisciplined and quite scared young people, who had come to protest against an' immoral war in Southeast Asia and discovered the battle on the western front. But their were too many cameras for the police to destroy and too many ob- servers to beat to the ground. So when police and troops move in to quell the next ghetto riot or anti-war march, they are going to be more carefully watched than ever before by a wary public. -STEVE NISSEN To the Editor: AUG. 12 - WE WOULD like t bring to the attention of t University community a serio matter presently under discussic in the Graduate School of Soci; Wbrk. The principle of self-determine tion is receiving increasing su port from professors and practi- ioners active in the field of sociv work, both nationally and at tt University. It is contended th those who are the recipients of s cial services should be involved i the determination of staff sele tion and of service goals. IN ACCORDANCE with th principle, which is being pre pounded frequently in social wo classes and in informal discussio by administrators and professo of the School, students are su gesting that they, as recipientso academic services, be involved i the determination of faculty se lection and academic goals.' Graduate students in the com munity practice area of the so cial work school have approache numerous persons, notably the as sociate dean and the Acting Pro gram Head of Community Prac tice about this matter. We ar concerned that students be give. an opportunity to interview can didates for faculty positions an to have their views seriously con sidered by those who fill the po sitions. At present, the school is active ly searching for and interviewin persons for academiccposition closely -related to the communit practice area. The issue presentl under consideration, which w feel is extremely crucial, concern t h e participation of communit practice graduate students in th selection of faculty for these po sitions. Students in community practic have brought with them to th School of Social Work, consider able relevant experience ranging from Peace Corps and Vista ser vice to work in the poverty pro gram and other aspects of th public welfare field. IN ADDITION, we are spending two days each week as part of th social work curriculum, activel working w it h community prob- lems. This practical fieldwork ha made us acutely aware of the com. plex nature of the situation int( which we shall be injecting our selves and of the skills which w must possess if we are to mak meaningful contributions. This combination of experience we believe, has given us a fairl3 good conception of what we shal be confronting as practitioners. I many cases we feel that we have a greater grasp of the problem with which we will be working than some faculty. Several faculty members, des- pite their academic background \have had work experience which is extremely limited and largely irrelevant to the world in which practitioners must now work. Both the academic and practical train- ing which social work students re- ceive is, however, greatly depen- dent on the qualifications of those who serve as instructors. On August 5, 1968, a meeting of the Community Practice Commit- community practice area, was held. AT T HI S MEETING, all those present, students and fac- ulty, unanimously supported a resolution which recommended that students be fully involved in the recruitment and selection of new faculty members. In addition, the Acting Program Head agreed to invite students to interview persons being considered for com- munity practice faculty positions. On August 6,hthe students in a meeting with the associate dean, "Prof. Robert Vinter, presented the faculty resolution and informed the associate dean of the Acting Head's willingness to have stu- dents interview community prac- tice faculty candidates. The students also requested that students be included as members of the School's "Search" Commit- tee, which makes faculty recom- mendations on the hiring of all Social Work School faculty. The Associate Dean refused and stated that the School was not yet "ready" for this innovation. In addition, he ordered the Act- ing Program Head to withdraw his offer to permit students to form- ally interview candidates.The Acting Program Head was forced to acquiesce. LATER IN THE WEEK, with- out giving students an opportun- ity to interview him or to express their opinions, an individual was employed on a full-time basis to teach community practice courses. This is the situation as it now stands. We find it difficult to be- lieve that the "establishment" of the Social Work School (we have one) is so resistant to meaningful student' participation in an issue which so seriously affects them. We find it hard to believe that the associate dean will use liis authority not only todeny the requests of students, but also to unilaterally reverse the decision of -a faculty member, the Acting Pro- gram Head. It seems at best ironic that stu- lents in the School of Social Work should spend so much of their ac- ademic time preparing to attack institutional and organizational rigidity a nd yet' be confronted with it in such a blatant manner within the School itself. It seems a flagrant contradiction to what we are being taught and, in our judgment, is shockingly hypocriti- cal -(Rev.) Paul F. Fettig President, School of Social Work Student Union -Hilde Lehmann -Rosemary Holland -Sally Capps -John Charles Bearden -Cheryl Blatson -Carroll L. Lucht --Charles H. Chomet -Ginny Stewart -Linda Paul -William T. Priestly -Robert T. Hovey -Emily -Brown Error concerning 'U' and mediation The Chicago circus: gutsy To the Editor: AUG 29-An erroneous implica- tion is in the technical ac- curacy in your Aug. 15 story con- cerning the request by the University and a labor union for mediation assistance in reach- ing agreement on an initial con- tract. Your story says, "Union recog- nition by the University for the purpose of collective bargaining was granted last year after a walkout by plant workers at the start;of the fall term.", Recognition was not granted to three different unions for ex- elusive collective bargaining pur- poses because of a walkout by some members of one union. Rec- ognition was granted after the designations of appropriate bar- gaining units by the State Labor Mediation Board, followed by elections among eligible persons in the designated units. These are the procedures Pro- vided/ under the law relating to public employes. The University has scrupulously followed the pro- visions of the law. --Jack H. Hamilton Assistant Director University Relations. THE WHOLE thing was pretty gutsy. If you weren't taking it too seriously, and at times it was hard to, the Democratic National Convention was reminiscent of vintage Max Sennett slapstick. There were silent, secretive men with union badges and Humphrey buttons tag- ging behind Sander Vanocur and John Chancellor. There were plainsclothesmen shielding a raging Mayor Daley from pry- ing photographers. There was Carl Albert banging his gavel and croaking that the disputed vote was unanimous. And it was, all brought to us live and in color by the major networks, oil com- panies and hair coloring companies. UNFORTUNATELY the mockery of de- mocracy that the Democrats displayed on several occasions during their rauc- cous get-together wrenched as many stomachs as did the brutal street riots. C £r1i4all Fall and winter subscription rate $5.00 per term by carrier ($5.50 by mail); $9.00 for regular academic school year ($10 by mail). The Daily is a member of the Associated Press and Collegiate Press Service. It would be impossible for a conscien- tious parliamentarian to try to r u n a convention where everyone wants to par- ticipate in the proceedings. And in a con- vention whose outcome was decided from the start, the processes of democratic de- bate could hardly be expected to flourish. However, it did seem out of order for the chair to switch the opening night' schedule on short notice, changing the date for a credentials battle while the loyal delegations were unprepared. It ap- peared irregular for the chair to recog- nize Mayor Daley's motions to adjourn Tuesday night after refusing a similar request from Wisconsin. And the whole world was watching. BROUGHT live to a nation of viewers, the convention was a circus that may temporarily mark the demise of the Dem- ocrats. Doubtless, the Democrats courted dis- aster by their "healthy" divisiveness, but certainly the media led them on. It often appeared the convention was being as carefully rigged by television as by the mayor. Flip comments bounced between Chet and Dave. Cameras flashed from harn ru oninv - nna tkrs f n RPeiny d P - * * * DON BEACH, director of the University's registration, said recently in an exclusive interview that the long lines present this year for advanced classification were, in' his words, "a strange phenomenon." Beach, who considers the prospect of eliminating registra- tion "a broad and beautiful question," said he sees the days when computers take over much of the work now done by stu- dents, including registering for classes. Beach said he hopes to witness within three to five years, "a jelling tcomputer program" to deal with registration. While walking from the Natural Resources Building to South University, where the registration line was forming the other day, Cecilia Cecela, a new University student, explained to those walking with her how she was told sternly by her older sister, a former student at the University, not to believe every- hing she heard and only half of what the Daily printed. She reminisced of a time when she was told Univac was go- ing to take over all the work of student registration, and be- lieving this, how she rushed to Aspen to spend several addition- al days skiing. The older sister blames this misinformation for her present difficulty in bipedal locomotion. She explains, having missed the registration, she was forced to run from class to class from North to South campus, obtaining signatures and permissions. Echoing Miss Cecela's admonishment was A. Calvin Bur- ton, now a retired employee of the Pennsylvania Southern Railroad Co., who said this week in a letter from Charleston, S. C., to Cecilia Cecela that when he attended the University, students were promised that the registrati6n congestion would be eliminated by the extended use of abacusses worked by the math department professors. "-1, - - VI{{E rn I ' d . . ' . 4 'Flaming Creatures': not 'anti-social' < A To the Editor: AUG 27-Again the Daily has printed errors of fact re- garding the seizure of "Flaming Creatures" at a Cinema Guild showing a year and a' half ago. Reference is here made to an article on Ann Arbor police rela- tions with the campus by Jill Crabtree in The Daily. 0 The article states on Aug. 27, ". . .Ann Arbor police seized a Cinema Guild film 'Flaming Crea- tures' because it had been deemed anti-social in a New York trial." This is simply not' the case. The New York trial did not deem the film "anti-social" nor can one conclude that the trial had any bearing upon the seizure here in Ann Arbor. The inference of direct causation is plainly unwar- ranted, if not groundless. The "anti-social' nature of the film was not the reason why the film was seized here. If one accepts the statements of the po- lice and current legal standards for obscenity, then one discovers that "anti-sociality" is not an issue. But then I begin to wonder if The Daily really does understand the issues. So much factual in- accuracy has been printed by The Daily regarding this matter that the mind boggles. Our numerous corrections seem to have no effect upon your staff's penchant for journalistic inaccuracy in this matter. -I. Alan Smokler Cinema Guild' x R Opposition to Chicago police tactics To the Editor: WT ARE sndinta he flliwui, vention, conference, committee meeting or any other purpose un-